A pedestrian wearing a face mask or covering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, walks past a branch of a Barclays bank in central London on July 29, 2020. (Photo: AFP)

British bank Barclays on Thursday announced a 38-percent slump in net profit for 2020 and said expenses related to the coronavirus pandemic were set to stay high this year.

Profit after tax fell to £1.53 billion ($2.12 billion, 1.76 billion euros), Barclays said in a statement, adding that impairment charges shot up to £4.8 billion.